Iran Update Special Report, May 22, 2026

Key Points:

• US-Iran negotiations show slight progress but remain stalled over Iran's highly enriched uranium (HEU) and control of the Strait of Hormuz, with both sides maintaining high demands and no clear resolution in sight.
• Iran is attempting to legitimize its control over the Strait of Hormuz by proposing a fee system for maritime passage, partnering with Oman, and framing its actions as providing "security," despite opposition from Gulf states and the US, which view this as coercive extortion infringing on regional sovereignty.
• Gulf neighbors and the US reject Iran's efforts to control shipping routes in the strait, warning that recognizing Iran's proposed transit rules would set a dangerous precedent and threaten freedom of navigation, a key condition for ending the ongoing conflict.
• Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have launched drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, prompting the Iraqi Shia Coordination Framework to form a federal government committee to investigate these incidents, amid ongoing disputes over militia disarmament and integration into Iraq’s security forces.
• Iranian-backed militias and political actors in Iraq strongly oppose disarmament and integration efforts promoted by the US and Iraqi government, with Iran seeking to maintain influence by reducing militia kinetic activity while consolidating political control, potentially building new loyal militia cadres.